Iao Hon Leisure area to be replaced by public housing tower

The current leisure area of the Rua Oito do Iao Hon will soon be replaced by a 90 meter high residential tower as part of the government’s public housing projects.

The urban conditions plan (PCU) for the land plots was approved yesterday during the meeting of the Urban Planning Committee (CPU).

Although the project will carry obvious consequences for the area, including the development of a portion of land that is currently occupied by street hawkers, the plan did not raise any questions from the committee members.

According to the PCU the newly-approved building should have a land occupancy rate of 90.7%.

An opinion from the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) which currently manages the land plots proposes to preserve the existing trees, and if this is not possible due to lack of space,  transplant them to other locations.

Also presented in the same meeting was the PCU for the land plot of the former Estoril Hotel and swimming pool, which, as has been proposed for a long time, will give way to the new central library.

This plan did not prompt any opinions from the members of the CPU either, being approved without remarks.

Under the approved plan the Estoril swimming pool will be left untouched.

The building height will have a maximum ceiling capped at 29.37 meters on the side facing the Tap Seac square, and the height may be raised to 71.71 meters on the side facing the Estrada da Vitória.

It was also noted that the plot includes a tree already listed in the Old and Valuable Trees List, which necessitated that the government developer present a plan for the protection of the tree to IAM before the start of construction.